Hot Air Balloons

On the 19th September 1783 Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, launched the first hot air balloon called 'Aerostat Reveillon'. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.  Several months later, the first manned attempt was successful for a total of 20 minutes.  In 1793, the first balloon flight in North America occurred.  Today, on Earth day, 2012, my first hot air balloon flight lasted 1 hour, 13 minutes, traveling a little over 8 miles on a gorgeous sunny day! Yesterday, on a whim, I decided it was time to try a new adventure.  I called Rainbow Ryders, Inc. from the number on their webpage and they had an extra space available.  So this morning, I got up super early in the dark so that by sunrise I could be at the launching place.  It was chilly at that hour, so everyone had on coats.  We parked, walked to a nearby dirt lot where the company vans and trailers were pulling in - and proceeded to watch the fascinating process of setting up a hot air balloon.  First, they unloaded a huge nylon sheet to lay out the balloon on.  Then came the big packs rolled out with the balloon stuffed inside.  Then the basket was brought out and set up with poles, gas tanks, lines, etc.  Huge flames shot up in the air as they tested out the gas lines before the balloon was laid out. Once the balloon was stretched out on the cloth, they tied the basket off to the front of the van, and set up huge fans to start blowing air into the balloons.  As it started to fill, you could see inside the balloon, and the crew members walked in to start setting up the lines. Once the balloons are filled, they attach the lines to the basket and pull it upright.  Then it's time to climb into the basket.  There are foot holds in the side of the basket to assist your climb and then you just swing your leg over and hop in - no graceful way to get in - just "up and over" as they say!  When everyone is in, the pilot gave us a quick lesson on the landing position - we had to line up single file in the basket, hold the hand loops on each side, and bend our knees.  Pretty simple. And with that, he started up the gas blower - which puts out quite a bit of heat - and we gently started drifting upward.  I was amazed at how gentle it was - no swaying or shaking or tilting.  Before we knew it, we were high above the trees and heading for the river.  Because of the difference in temperatures of water over land, we had to break through "the dome" to be able to come down straight over the water.  Our pilot, Craig Kennedy, has been doing this for over 20 years. So while some of the other balloons struggled to hit it right, he made it look easy! Craig gave us a few tips on ballooning:  If you brush your nylon balloon against another balloons nylon in the air - that's called a kiss.  If you hit your basket against their ballon, that's called "oh shit!"  If you go right to the surface of the river, just skimming the surface, that's called a "splash and dash"! So we made it over the Rio Grande River.  Sighted and worried a few Canada Geese protecting their eggs, and caught a thermal updraft to rise over 600 feet off the ground.  Once their, we lost the currant and just hovered in the air at about 3 mph.  Craig pulled a line and very slowly twirled the balloon around so that we all got to see the full 360 view - Sandia Mountains in the east, volcano plugs in the west, the Rio Grande stretching out - and Albuquerque beneath us.  His grandson was with him - and was responsible for sending out little plastic toy parachutes. They use these to check the wind and drafts - watching it all the way down to see which way they turn.  Watching him maneuver was amazing.  Being so high up in the clear morning air with the sun blazing over the mountains was incredible!!  I wasn't a bit nervous and even leaned a bit over the side to get a picture.  It feels very safe and moves very slow.  When the blower wasn't going - which is very loud and really hot - everything was silent.  Except for all the dog barking.  Apparently sound rises - and over a few neighborhoods it sounded like we were near a kennel full of dogs.  Albuquerque is a great place for hot air ballooning.  With 300 days a year of sunny, good weather and it's unique valley position - Albuquerque is a great place for ballooning.  Every year in October, the Balloon Fiesta is held here.  It is the largest balloon convention in the world.  Albuquerque is referred to as "the box" which, according to Wikipedia, is a set of predictable wind patterns that can be exploited to navigate balloons.  At low elevations the winds come from the south.  At higher elevations, it comes from the north - allowing balloonists to navigate a vertical box by ascending, moving south, ascending further moving north, descending and repeating the box. We, however, were traveling in a somewhat straight, southerly direction.  It was fun to watch the other balloonists begin to land, and then to begin our own descent.  According to the pilot, you can't pick your landing spot until you're down to 300 ft - because it's too easy to drift in another direction.  We slowly descended and began to scout for a good spot.  Craig said that we were looking for an open space  - preferably dry, and if it was a field, preferably with an open gate - which meant no livestock to scare and easy access for the chase crew to bring the van. He managed to head us into the back lot of a house under construction.  The landing was a bit bumpy but not too bad. Once the chase crew arrived with the van and trailer to secure the balloon and deflate it, we climbed out of the basket and got to help pack the balloon back into it's carry bag.  Then we were taken back to the launch site and given a "survivor" pin and a certificate.  After everyone had paid, we all toasted our success with a cup of champagne while the owner of the company recited the Irish Balloonists Prayer: The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with his warm hands. You have flown so high and so well that God has joined us together in laughter and set us gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth. It was such an awe inspiring, fun, amazing trip!  My first thought when I got out of the basket at the end was: I want to do it again!!  Anybody wanna go with me? Jules